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SWISS CONFEDERATION FEDERAL ELECTIONS 21 October 2007

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SWISS CONFEDERATION FEDERAL ELECTIONS 21 October 2007 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights SWISS CONFEDERATION FEDERAL ELECTIONS 21 October 2007 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report Warsaw 3 April 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................1 II. INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................2 III. BACKGROUND.........................................................................................................................2 IV. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK..............................................................................................4 A. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION.....................................................................................................4 B. STATUS OF POLITICAL PARTIES .............................................................................................4 C. ELECTORAL SYSTEM ..............................................................................................................4 1. National Council ...................................................................................................................4 2. Council of States....................................................................................................................6 D. PARTY AND CAMPAIGN FINANCING .......................................................................................6 E. ELECTION OBSERVATION.......................................................................................................7 V. ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION........................................................................................7 A. CANTON AND COMMUNE LEVEL ............................................................................................8 B. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS ....................................................................................................8 VI. CAMPAIGN................................................................................................................................9 VII. THE MEDIA.............................................................................................................................10 A. MEDIA LANDSCAPE...............................................................................................................10 B. REGULATION FOR ELECTION COVERAGE............................................................................11 VIII. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN............................................................................................13 IX. CIVIL SOCIETY AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION ...........................................................14 X. VOTING....................................................................................................................................15 A. POSTAL VOTING....................................................................................................................16 B. POLLING STATION VOTING ..................................................................................................17 C. OUT OF COUNTRY VOTING...................................................................................................20 XI. COUNTING AND TABULATION.........................................................................................20 XII. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS ............................................................................................23 ANNEX: 21 OCTOBER 2007 SWISS FEDERAL ELECTIONS RESULTS ................................24 ABOUT THE OSCE/ODIHR..............................................................................................................26 THE SWISS CONFEDERATION FEDERAL ELECTIONS 21 October 2007 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In response to an invitation from the President of the Swiss Confederation, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) for the 21 October 2007 elections to the Nationalrat/Conseil National (National Council) and the Ständerat/Conseil des Etats (Council of States), comprising the Swiss Federal Assembly. Switzerland is a parliamentary democracy with a long-standing democratic tradition, as was evidenced by these parliamentary elections, which were conducted accordingly with a high degree of public confidence. The Swiss electoral system of proportional representation generally encourages political diversity and pluralism, offering voters a wide and genuine choice. Interest in these elections was higher than recent past federal elections, resulting in a turnout of 48.9 per cent, the highest since 1987. The Swiss Federal Assembly is elected for a four-year fixed term. Federal legislation provides rules for elections to the National Council, but many aspects are left in the competence of the 26 cantons, resulting in a great variety of regulations. Competence for legislation for the Council of States rests with the cantons. The 26 cantons retain significant powers, and each canton decides the division of governmental responsibilities between it and the communes, which varies considerably across Switzerland. A distinct feature of Swiss political life is also the prevalence of various forms of direct democracy at all levels of government, which gives voters choices on a range of issues throughout the year. The 2007 campaign took place in a competitive manner with reported record levels of campaign expenditure by candidates and political parties. At present, expenditures are not required to be disclosed or reported to the public, and this issue is becoming increasingly controversial in the election process. Many national and local issues were debated and raised during the campaign period. The final few weeks of the election campaign were dominated by the controversy over a political poster, issued by one of the dominant political parties, which many perceived as conveying a racist message. Switzerland’s linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as a long-term tradition of freedom of expression, have enabled the creation of a diversified and pluralistic media market. This is principally structured along linguistic lines, and a number of local media are present in each of the four Swiss linguistic regions. The overall reporting of the election campaign was diverse, and covered a variety of topics. Candidates largely resorted to paid advertisements in the main media outlets to publicise their platforms. According to standard practice, an OSCE/ODIHR EAM does not envisage comprehensive and systematic observation of election day procedures, although members of the EAM did have the opportunity to visit polling stations around the Swiss Confederation Page: 2 Federal Elections, 21 October 2007 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report country on election day. The electoral procedures allow voters a choice as to where and when they cast their vote, including in person, by post and during an early voting period in advance of election day. Swiss voters abroad also had the opportunity to cast ballots, albeit under time constraints due to the timing of ballot delivery. The elections, while conducted with a high degree of autonomy in the communes, and with minimal assistance from the federal and cantonal levels, appeared to be administered in an overall professional manner. The election process and procedures enjoy a high level of trust among candidates and voters, and the large majority of voters cast their votes by post; there is always a degree of vulnerability posed to any trust-based procedures without sufficient checks, and postal voting can also raise potential challenges to the secrecy of the vote. International and domestic non-partisan election observation is not foreseen in federal electoral legislation. Nevertheless the OSCE/ODIHR EAM was accredited by the Federal Council and all levels of the election administration were highly cooperative and provided any information that was requested. II. INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In response to an invitation from the President of the Swiss Confederation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) for the 21 October 2007 elections to the National Council and the Council of States, comprising the Swiss Federal Assembly. The OSCE/ODIHR EAM was deployed from 14 to 24 October 2007. It was led by Paul DeGregorio and consisted of ten election experts from nine OSCE participating States. In addition to experts based in Bern, the OSCE/ODIHR EAM deployed teams to Zurich, Lucerne and Lausanne. In line with OSCE/ODIHR methodology, the OSCE/ODIHR EAM did not undertake systematic or comprehensive observation of election day procedures. The OSCE/ODIHR wishes to express its appreciation to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Chancellery and the Cantonal Chancelleries for their assistance and support, and all electoral authorities, organizations and individuals for their cooperation. III. BACKGROUND Switzerland is a parliamentary democracy with a long standing democratic tradition. It comprises 26 cantons, that joined together to form the Swiss Confederation, whose Constitution of 1848 established political unity in Switzerland. The process of confederation saw the cantons cede part of their sovereignty1 to the Confederation; all other powers were retained
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